For those of you who knew him:
Ivan passed away in his sleep last night following a short battle with cancer.
He was 61. He will be missed.

Greg

He will be sorely missed. His biting humor, his articles, his stubborness and his formation flying. After watching Ivan and his son fly those F15s is probaly one of the reasons I am into jets now. My prayers and condolences to the family. This one deserves the missing man formation

i will remember his laugh too. always seemed as if he "got it" before you were even there. we lost a good one in ivan.

Wow I am completely shocked and saddened. I did not know he was ill.

My thoughts and prayers go to his family and friends.

Ah yes, THAT was Ivan. I used to "blame" him every chance I had for my entry into the jet community ten years ago. Prior to that he was simply a mentor who'd kick my ass when I blew an approach - he'd beat on me unmercifully and make me keep flying approaches and aborting landings until I got it "just right."

Ivan could eyeball a model before its 1st flight and tell you within a few clicks or so what sort of trim you'd need even before the plane took off!

That guy was a MASTER at making CorelDraw literally sing. Virtually every one of my jets has markings that originally started out on Ivan's PC in a CorelDraw file. It didn't stop there, he was equally adept at cobbling up some magic, goofball Excel spreadsheet (with animated graphics no less) just to make a point on some esoteric aspect of aerodynamics.

Probably more modelers than I can count learned from him. We learned a lot about what it takes to build and competently fly a decent model airplane. We learned a lot about generosity and his unselfish approach to helping out just about everybody. We learned of his unwavering principles of self-accountability and ethics - we also learned he placed the same demands on others as he placed on himself. We learned to NEVER get into an argument or debate with Ivan if he knew he was right!

This guy was also a warrior's warrior. He graduated from the AF Academy in 1966 and went on to fly and fight with distinction during the Viet Nam conflict - most of his time "in-country" was spent with obscure "special operations groups" operating over/in Cambodia and Laos. (Lord knows, we used to swap a lot of lies during our many BS sessions!) Later he went on to train AF pilots in both the Tweet (T-37) and the venerable Mouse (T-38), logging several thousand hours in the later alone.

He was not without courage, even during the last days of his life when he knew the end was near. I last saw him two weeks ago when he came out to our club's warbird fly-in. He did not appear the part of the warrior I knew - the cancer was kicking his ass big time. But, despite being in a wheelchair with an O2 bottle on his lap, his held his head high and could still muster a decent handshake despite his failing condition. We talked a lot; we said a lot of emotional things that guys should say to one another more often - especially friends. I put my arm around his shoulder and told him he was the best friend a guy could ask for, in ANY circumstance - we both shed a few tears. We parted company with a mutual salute and we both knew we had said our good byes for the last time.

Yup, he'll be missed; missed by me more than words can describe. Count your blessings gentlemen. Sorry to ramble on ...

Mike

Mike,

A very fitting tribute to a great man, well said!

Ivan, Rest in Peace, we miss you already!

Mike,

That was one of the most amazing things I have ever read.

May God bless his friends and family.

WOW, what shocking news.

I met Ivan several years ago at Superman, Steve Grey and I ate Breakfast
with him and his buddies from Colorado. A few years later I let him fly my
TGA F-15 UE III.

Ivan never was at a loss for a story or Two. He will Be always remembered,
He Was a SuperDude.

All my best to his family, He was TOO Young. (Two years younger than I.)

I only met Ivan once, but I could tell right away that he had class. He was visiting Ottawa on business a few winters ago, but had some free time on a Saturday. I played tourist guide and showed him around town and the Canadian National Aviation Museum. (Our current club president, who works at the museum, gave us a behind the scenes tour. Ivan wrote about it in his column. I gave that issue of the magazine to the museum.) He was a nice guy with a great knowledge of aviation stuff. After the tour, we met with a bunch of local RC'rs at a pub and had a wonderful afternoon of chit chat.

My condolences to his family and friends.

...jim

That's sad news indeed.

Best wishes to his family.

I commented on Jim's memory of Ivan's visit over on The List ...
>>>
I remember - he talked fondly of that visit for months afterward. That was back in
the pre 9-11 days when aircraft on board security was not what it is today. On that
trip he was a passenger on a Delta Airlines CRJ out of Cincy into Ottawa. Before the
flight he was chatting up the front end guys - probably swapping lies about flying.
Before the flight landed, the 1st officer came back and grabbed Ivan - quietly
asked him if we wanted the jumpseat for the landing. That was one flight - along
with the visit you describe - he never forgot.

He also made a trip to Hawaii - he was messing around up in the Kaena Point area
on Oahu. The jet guys on the island benefitted from that visit. During some down
time he hooked up with some of the local d/f guys and I think he signed off a couple
to get their turbine waivers - made their day!

Here's another vignette: Some of us had "contacts" with United A/L's flight sim
center in Denver. Years ago Ivan and his son Paul used to go up there occassionally
to "fly' one of United's DC-10 sims. One of his funnier comments was "... that
doggone DC-10 is a pig, it won't even snap roll ..." Frankly, I think they bent the sim.
<<<

Mike

Greg

Please pass my condolences on to his family.

I've always read his articles in Flying Models over the years. We had the good fortune to meet him at dinner one evening at Superman 2002. Great story teller and all round good guy. He will be missed by all.

Sincerely,
Ed

I feel that I must say a few words to honor a man that I held in high regards.
Ivan and I belonged to the same club (Pikes Peak RC) for 12 years. He never stopped trying to bring a fellow
rc'r. up the learning curve with his wealth of info and enthusiasm.
When I started the Vigilante project in 1993 Ivan was the one that incouraged me to do the plug and molds because he knew that other modelers would be interested as well.
I'm sorry that he never got the chance to fly the RA5C but he was there beside me for the first flight and for the next 30 plus flights as my caller. His inputs during these early flights saved this plane many times and I have always remembered these little words of wisdom every time that it has been flown since.
We surely have lost a great friend and modeler. One that will be hard to replace.
My deepest condolances go out to his family and especially his son Paul: the best team pilots I've ever seen.
My thoughts are with you, Phil.

Ivan was the first person to fly my first ducted fan plane. (a Byron MiG 15) I didn't have the guts to make the first flight and he was nice enough to do it for me. This was in Irving, Texas about 12 years ago with a 40 mph wind.
In the years since, he and Paul always remembered me when they came to Texas.
I think I speak for all who knew him when I say he'll be missed greatly.
Johnny

Hello All

My condolences to the Munninghoff family. I am one of the Hawaii jet gang that benefited from Ivan's visit to the Islands. It was really great of him to take the time to sign some of us off down here in the Aloha State. I feel luck to have spent some time with Ivan while he was in the Islands, he is a great man and I will miss him.

ALCON:

I've set up a wake for Ivan at our local Fargo's Pizza Company beginning at 5:30 pm on the 10th of July. A room has been reserved that will accommodate a large group. Ivan loved pizza - it was one of his few vices. After a day of flying model airplanes, I figure we'll drink the beer he wouldn't have ... Plus, we can roast him in absentia. [;} If anybody can't make it but wants a "testimonial" read, please email it to me direct.

Ask Da Fatha, summer wx here along the Front Range here in CO is drop dead gorgeous. For anyone who's thinking of making the trip, the address is 2910 E. Platte Ave., Colorado Springs, CO.

Here's a MapQuest link: (you'll have to paste ALL of it in your browser)
<http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp...++Search++>

Leave your checkbook and credit cards at home - Fargos only accepts cash, sorry. But the pizza is awesome. We'll have a great time and honor a man who graced us with his presence for a short time on this earth.

Vr,
Mike Weidner

I'm going to miss him. He was alway great to vist with at the various jet rallies I saw him at. It was fun talking electrics with him. I'm still flying his ME-262.
May he rest in peace.
Bob Ruff

My deepest sympathy to his family. May his soul rest in peace.